Dear Queenscliff Parents and Carers,

It's a bird!...

It’s a plane!...

No….

It’s Shrek Jnr!

With only two sleeps to go, the excitement and nervous energy is building amongst students and our community for the most spectacular musical production of ‘Shrek Jnr’. Today and tomorrow students will travel to the hall for rehearsals and this will provide them with a valuable opportunity to get used to the stage and backstage areas of Point Lonsdale School Hall. Thank you to all of our parent volunteers who have assisted this week with bump in at the hall and also the vast array of last minute jobs that need to be done in preparation for the shows. Thank you!

I wish to extend my deepest gratitude and thank you to Tamsin Jackson who has designed and made all of our props and sets for our musical production. Tamsin’s creativity and craftsmanship is nothing short of professional. Her creativity, design and attention to detail in creating the sets and props for the show has brought our production to another level, and beyond the expectations of a small regional primary school. I am so thankful to Tamsin for all of the time, effort and energy she has put into this crucial part of our production. Join me in thanking and congratulating Tamsin when you see her next! I am sure, like me, our audience will be blown away by the outstanding craftsmanship and creativity of Tamsin.

We originally sold out both nights, but we have managed to add in additional seating due to many community members and relatives of students wishing to attend. There are still tickets available for purchase by using the QR code below.

Parents, carers, friends and community members are invited to come along to the show early on both nights to enjoy the Shrek Snack Bar from 5:45pm. A wide variety of beverages and snacks are available for purchase, as well as the Shrek Jnr Program. A huge thank you to our amazing local sponsors who have taken our Shrek Snack Bar to the next level. Payment will only be accepted on card, no cash will be accepted on premises.

Year 3-6 Nippers Program

Last Friday 7 November, our Year 3-6 students had their very first session of Nippers at Santa Casa Beach. Students participated in the program with enthusiasm, resilience and determination despite the cooler conditions. Students learnt a variety of skills when participating in the afternoon including beach sprints, CPR, beach safety, wading, dolphin diving, swimming and board paddling. Thank you to all of our amazing parent volunteers who assisted with the running of the Nipper activities, as well as setup and pack up at the end of the afternoon. At the conclusion of the Nippers afternoon, it was magical to see a pod of dolphins swim by which brought a lot of excitement to students, staff and parents. It was a beautiful way to conclude a very successful afternoon.

We are always seeking more parent volunteers to assist with our Nipper program from 12pm-3pm on Friday 21 and 28 November and Friday 5 and 12 December. If you are available to assist, please email melissa.fitzgerald2@education.vic.gov.au

Sunsmart Term 4

In Term 4 students are required to wear a QPS hat during recess and lunch breaks as part of our SunSmart Policy. Please ensure your child has a hat to wear at school, labelled with their name. Students who do not have a hat will be required to play in a designated shaded area during break times.

End of Year Concert - Friday 5 December

Parents, carers, friends and community members are invited to come along to our End of Year Concert on Friday 5 December from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. Families are encouraged to bring along a picnic filled with snacks and drinks to enjoy, as students perform musical acts. We will have classes performing as well as individual and small group acts from students who have worked closely with Maddy Serong over the semester during their music lessons.

Final Assembly - Friday 12 December

Parents and carers are invited to attend our special final assembly of 2025 on Friday 12 December. At our final assembly, we will present Excellence, Endeavour and Citizenship awards to students within each class, present our Year 6 graduates with their certificates, farewell families leaving our school, award badges to our new school leaders for 2026 and present community awards to our Year 6 students. We will have special guests from our school community joining us for this assembly. The assembly will commence at 9am.

Early Dismissal on Final Day of Term 4 and Curriculum Day

On the final day of the school year on Thursday 18 December, students will be dismissed early at 1pm. The McHarry’s Bus will not pick students up on this day. Students will require any early pick up on this day or students may wish to ride to and from school on their bikes. On the following day, Friday 19 December, staff will engage in a Curriculum Day, whereby they will engage in a comprehensive handover of information related to students’ learning and wellbeing needs from one class teacher to another.

Queenscliff Market Parent Volunteer Roster

On Sunday 30 November, the Queenscliff Community Market will be running at the Bellarine Queenscliff Railway site, instead of Princess Park due to the Queenscliff Music Festival. As a result, there will be some road closures and detours for parking that families need to be aware of if you plan to visit the Market on Sunday.

Please see below Market Roster for all of our parents in our community.

Queenscliff Market Parent Volunteer Roster

In the event that a family is unable to volunteer on their assigned day, we ask that you connect with another family to arrange a swap. Once confirmed, please email the school at queenscliff.ps@education.vic.gov.au or phone 03 5258 1696, so that we can keep the roster up to date and ensure the Market runs smoothly. If families wish to volunteer more than they have been rostered, they are welcome to contact the school via email or phone. When Parent Volunteers arrive at the Market for their allocated time, we ask that you check-in with the parent volunteers who have been rostered on prior to you in the pavilion to change over. Also, we ask parent volunteers to arrive 5-10 minutes early before their designated shift.

If you have any questions regarding the Queenscliff Market season for 2025/2026 or the Parent Volunteer Roster, please do not hesitate to email queenscliff.ps@education.vic.gov.au or phone the school on 03 5258 1696.

Thank you for your support for the Queenscliff Community Market. It is a key fundraiser for our school to support our students' learning and wellbeing, and we are grateful for your contribution as a volunteer.

Assembly

Our next assembly will be held this Friday 14 November. Parents, carers and community members are invited to join us for this special celebration whereby we will have 3/4R, 5/6T and Year 1 showcasing their learning.

School Council

Our final School Council meeting for the year is scheduled for Monday 24th November 2025. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our School Council members who have made a significant contribution to our school this year, engaging in valuable discussions and decision making. Thank you Daniela Sayegh, Fleur Hewitt, Lisa Golightly, Naomi Stacey, Richard Fewster, Melissa Fitzgerald, Heidi Boyd, Morgan-Lee Hickey. Your contributions, effort, time and insights have been invaluable to our school this year.

If you have correspondence or feedback you would like to provide to the School Council, parents and carers are invited to email our School Council President, Daniela Sayegh at daniela.sayegh@education.vic.gov.au .

I look forward to seeing many of you at the musical production of ‘Shrek Jnr’ on Thursday and Friday!

Nyatne baa Gobata

(Thank you and take care)

Mat McRae

Principal

3/4T News

This term, students have been exploring the novel Kensuke’s Kingdom — the captivating story of eleven year

old Michael, who falls from his family’s yacht and becomes stranded on a deserted island. The island, rich with natural features such as mountains and forests, has provided the perfect link to our Integrated Studies unit, Australia and Its Neighbours.

In this unit, students are learning about Indonesia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea, with a focus on the natural features that make each country unique.

In Wellbeing, students have been learning more about their own identities — exploring their interests, strengths, and dreams. Connecting this to our novel study, they have designed their own “desert islands,” where each natural feature represents a part of who they are. Some creative examples include Creativity Cave, Ice Cream Isle, Dancing Dunes, and Maths Mountain!

5/6T Camp Stories

When we returned from camp, students combined their writing skills with their camp memories. We used what we have been learning about similes, metaphors and personification to write short narrative snapshots inspired by real camp moments. Students selected a favourite memory, then brought it to life using figurative language — and we hope you enjoy reading a few of their pieces below!

My heart swirled like it was holding a tsunami; my head was pumping like the bass of a rock band as my fingers trembled, tightening the straps. They rubbed against my ankles like a new rash. I lifted myself up onto the carpeted ground, my feet slowly sliding apart as I stood. Suddenly, I was doing my own version of the splits, like I was a ballet dancer. Soon, I was stepping onto the ice, my feet sliding apart once again, but soon I was in a motorbike stance, steadying myself on the ice that felt surprisingly warm. My heart beat faster as I slowly moved my feet in and out, feeling as free as a bird.
By Jude

As I stepped onto the ice, I realised this might be harder than I thought. As soon as my feet touched the ice (which felt as thin as paper), I started to wobble backwards — luckily I caught myself just in time. The cold air made my fingers go numb, and the skates were pushing against my ankles. When we actually started skating, half of us were falling flat on our faces and the other half looked like they had been skating their whole lives. It felt like we were skating forever, except for those few moments when we were face down on the floor, struggling to get back up.
By Lottie

I stepped onto the shimmery, crisp, cold ice as I carefully moved one foot, gliding across the ice around the wall of the rink, carefully clutching the rail, sure not to slip — like my life depended on it! But soon enough, I was on my butt, feeling the melting ice seep through my pants. As my efforts to get back up failed, I had to cautiously wriggle to the edge to then hoist myself up on the wall. By the end, my feet ached, and I was soaked from the number of times I fell.
By Anouk